World Language Exposure

[MeganW]

A very highly-respected local private school provides daily "World Language Exposure" in Chinese, French, and Spanish from preschool to 2nd grades, and each child chooses a language to focus on from 2nd grade on.

 

I love the sound of this. Thoughts?

 

How could it be incorporated at home? 3 different programs on alternating days? Too confusing? Or would you learn a word in all 3 languages? Would you need to try and arrange a group with a tutor?

Edited January 21, 2012 by MeganW

[taffnus]

I think it sounds like a great idea but I'd wonder about the cost. I would assume it's quite expensive, given that it's a prestigious private school. If your goal is to have bilingual children, I'd probably take the money and hire an in-home tutor to come and teach a language. The kids would probably learn more and you wouldn't have to leave the house. The program sounds great if your children are already at the school but I don't know that I'd pay lots of money just for an introduction.

 

Also, it seems that you have your children involved in lots of different activities. I'd want to judge if another outside activity would actually stress them. I'm with you, not wanting my kids to miss out on anything but, we can do them a disservice if we throw too much at one time.

 

Anyway, all of this is IMO. :001_smile:

[regentrude]

I find programs like this rather useless. It sounds nice, but causal exposure like this will not translate into any real language skills, especially if the program stops in 2nd grade. I would consider it a waste of time to try to implement something like this at home - what is the benefit if a child can count to ten or say twenty words in Chinese?

People underestimate how hard it is to learn one foreign language well, and how much continuous, sustained work is required to reach anything resembling fluency.

The theory that children learn languages easily is correct, but there are only two ways to achieve this: either complete immersion in an environment that speaks this language (this is how kids learn their native language), or a structured, sustained effort of several hours per week throughout many years (this is how European schoolchildren learn two or three foreign languages in school: first language 3rd through 12th grade, 2nd language 6th through 12th, third language either early at a special school, or added i 8th grade).

[MeganW]

I guess I was thinking that since it is so hard to get accents right if you don't practice while they are young, it would be good to get that exposure (ear training, ability to make certain non-English sounds, etc.). I was thinking it might give them more flexibility in future years as to which language(s) to focus on.

 

Just to clarify - this is part of the education for kids who attend that school full time. They do NOT offer it to homeschooled children, and we have no plans/funds to enroll at that school full-time. I was just thinking of trying to replicate it at home.

 

I overheard a lady at swimming last night talking about how she and a group of homeschooled friends had gotten together and hired a Chinese tutor, and how much her kids had gotten out of it, and I guess that's what started the wheels turning.

 

So there's really not much retention of ear training, abilility to make sounds, etc. if it isn't studied continuously from the time learned?

[Embassy]

I think it is a great idea. It will expose the children to the sounds of different languages when they are of an age where they can more easily adapt their phonological systems to be able to produce those sounds correctly. Plus, it will give them time to "get their feet wet" and see which language suits them best. My young daughter has been exposed to several foreign languages and she definitely has a preference.

 

ETA: I would start out by exposure letting the child hear the sounds of the language in connected speech. Kid's shows in the different languages may be a good way to do this if you don't have access to native speakers. Then I might move to simple vocabulary programs or work on simple phrases in each language a couple times a week.

Edited January 21, 2012 by Wehomeschool

[MeganW]

It will expose the children to the sounds of different languages when they are of an age where they can more easily adapt their phonological systems to be able to produce those sounds correctly.

 

That's the proper way to say what I was trying to ask! :)

 

So how do you go about exposing them to several languages? Are you running several foreign language curr. concurrently? It would be so nice if there was one program that did this!

[Momling]

I find programs like this rather useless. It sounds nice, but causal exposure like this will not translate into any real language skills, especially if the program stops in 2nd grade. I would consider it a waste of time to try to implement something like this at home - what is the benefit if a child can count to ten or say twenty words in Chinese?

People underestimate how hard it is to learn one foreign language well, and how much continuous, sustained work is required to reach anything resembling fluency.

The theory that children learn languages easily is correct, but there are only two ways to achieve this: either complete immersion in an environment that speaks this language (this is how kids learn their native language), or a structured, sustained effort of several hours per week throughout many years (this is how European schoolchildren learn two or three foreign languages in school: first language 3rd through 12th grade, 2nd language 6th through 12th, third language either early at a special school, or added i 8th grade).

:iagree: I imagine the "language exposure" class is more of a marketing tool than anything else. Parents like saying things like "My child has studied Chinese, Russian, German and French at school."

[AmericanMom]

I find programs like this rather useless. It sounds nice, but causal exposure like this will not translate into any real language skills, especially if the program stops in 2nd grade. I would consider it a waste of time to try to implement something like this at home - what is the benefit if a child can count to ten or say twenty words in Chinese?

People underestimate how hard it is to learn one foreign language well, and how much continuous, sustained work is required to reach anything resembling fluency.

The theory that children learn languages easily is correct, but there are only two ways to achieve this: either complete immersion in an environment that speaks this language (this is how kids learn their native language), or a structured, sustained effort of several hours per week throughout many years (this is how European schoolchildren learn two or three foreign languages in school: first language 3rd through 12th grade, 2nd language 6th through 12th, third language either early at a special school, or added i 8th grade).

 

:iagree:

This reminds me of a relative who was discussing her Kindergartener's Mandarin public school class. She went on and on about how this 5 or 6yo knew how to count to 100 in Mandarin. Uh, that's all she can do after 2 months of this? (And how would you know if she got one wrong? Isn't that a very tonal language -- where different pitches mean different things?) If you (or someone your child is frequently around) have or are willing to learn one of these languages and speak or read it to your child, by all means, go ahead. Otherwise, IMHO it's just a cool thing to say, and I wouldn't want to waste my time on it.

[Embassy]

So how do you go about exposing them to several languages? Are you running several foreign language curr. concurrently? It would be so nice if there was one program that did this!

 

I've done exposure through DVDs and computer game-style programs. My youngest has had the most exposure because she had been around her older siblings learning languages and it shows. I do use several foreign language curricula concurrently, but not with the goal of picking one to study. If you are going the exposure route I wouldn't invest in curricula. I would get some games or DVDs or books to teach simple vocabulary. Once your child picks a language I would then purchase curriculum.

 

FWIW, I started several languages at a young age rather than stagger them because younger children have more adaptable phonological systems. They may not learn much early on in a non-immersion environment, but I do believe they will benefit greatly in terms of the ability to correctly produce sounds not found in English (i.e less of an accent).